The progenitors of Chinese woodworking are considered to be Lu Ban (魯班) and his wife Lady Yun, from the Spring and Autumn period (771 to 476 BC). Lu Ban is said to have introduced the plane, chalk-line, and other tools to China. His teachings were supposedly left behind in the book Lu Ban Jing (魯班經, "Manuscript of Lu Ban"). Despite this, it is believed that the text was written some 1500 years after his death. This book is filled largely with descriptions of dimensions for use in building various items such as flower pots, tables, altars, etc., and also contains extensive instructions concerning Feng Shui. It mentions almost nothing of the intricate glue-less and nail-less joinery for which Chinese furniture was so famous.

Cedars are strong, aromatic softwoods that are capable of enduring outdoor elements, the most common of which is the Western Red Cedar. Western Red Cedar can sustain wet environments without succumbing to rot, and as a result is commonly used for outdoor projects such as patios, outdoor furniture, and building exteriors. This wood can be easily found at most home centers for a moderate price.[12]

I am sharing here a link to the detailed tutorial written by Pete at diypete.com, who shares the step by step process for making a wonderful barrel coffee table from scratch. He also tells you what items you’ll need for this project and where to find them. For example, you can buy an old whiskey barrel online or from a local whiskey store for a few bucks, if you haven’t already got one.
This self-clamping table saw fence takes only seconds to put on and lets you crank the blade into the fence to create both angled cuts along board edges and extremely thin rip or rabbet cuts. With a hand- or jigsaw, cut pieces from a 1×4, making the inside width of the “L” a hair under the thickness of your saw’s fence. Drill 5/16-in. holes in the L-blocks and plywood fence and join them with two 1/4-in. x 3-in. countersunk machine screws, washers and Wing-Nuts. As always, use extra caution when you’re sawing without a blade guard. Our thanks for this new sawing angle to professional furniture maker George Vondriska. Check out these 16 genius tool hacks you need to know!

And the fact is that you can make your own patio chair with several old but still good pallets. Here we are providing a tutorial that everybody can follow easily – it is very well-written and also self-explanatory, which is great for those who are a beginner at woodworking and have never completed a DIY project before. As you don’t need to be a professional woodworker or a handyman to complete this project, so it is not a difficult task – all you need is a bit of determination!​

Hardwoods, botanically known as angiosperms, are deciduous and shed their leaves annually with temperature changes.[8] Softwoods come from trees botanically known as gymnosperms, which are coniferous, cone-bearing, and stay green year round.[8] Although a general pattern, softwoods are not necessarily always “softer” than hardwoods, and vice versa.[9] You can transfer a graphic on any wood piece of your choice, including a frame, top of a table, etc. The surface should be clean and big enough for the graphic paper. I am also sharing a video tutorial here that explains in detail the process of transferring any graphic to a wooden surface using a freezer paper. Just gather the items you need and follow this video to carve your favorite designs on your favorite wood items. Check out our new Brazos Net Rips! With new, state-of-the-art equipment we can rip lumber to your finished width with ultimate precision and accuracy using glue-line rip blades. Our saw can even rip parallel edges of random width boards using laser guided technology to ensure the highest yield possible out of each and every board. Start getting the most out of your lumber, contact your local Brazos sales representative today for more information!

Examples of Bronze Age wood-carving include tree trunks worked into coffins from northern Germany and Denmark and wooden folding-chairs. The site of Fellbach-Schmieden in Germany has provided fine examples of wooden animal statues from the Iron Age. Wooden idols from the La Tène period are known from a sanctuary at the source of the Seine in France.

Use whatever image hosting service you like and post the link to /r/woodworking. The key here is it needs to be apparent that you've built the entry, and you follow the photo requirements listed in the contest rules. Submissions of finished photos only will not be accepted for entry.
Working on one side at a time, glue and nail the side to the back. Apply glue and drive three 1-5/8-in. nails into each shelf, attach the other side and nail those shelves into place to secure them. Clamps are helpful to hold the unit together while you’re driving nails. Center the top piece, leaving a 2-in. overhang on both sides, and glue and nail it into place. Paint or stain the unit and then drill pilot holes into the top face of each side of the unit and screw in the hooks to hold your ironing board. Mount the shelf on drywall using screw-in wall anchors. There is significant evidence of advanced woodworking in ancient Egypt.[1] Woodworking is depicted in many extant ancient Egyptian drawings, and a considerable amount of ancient Egyptian furniture (such as stools, chairs, tables, beds, chests) has been preserved. Tombs represent a large collection of these artefacts and the inner coffins found in the tombs were also made of wood. The metal used by the Egyptians for woodworking tools was originally copper and eventually, after 2000 BC bronze as ironworking was unknown until much later.[2] ​Luckily, we have also managed to find a detailed video tutorial of the Barn door project that illustrates the process of building a Barn door of your own. The steps and instructions in the video tutorial are different from the source links listed above. Actually, you can make different types of designs for your Barn door depending on which one you can afford easily and DIY on your own. See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products See Products Not happy with the selection of sanding blocks at the hardware store, I made a few of my own from hardwood scraps left over from a woodworking project. I cut each one to 3/4 in. x 1-1/2 in. x 4-1/2 in.—which is just the right size to wrap a quarter sheet of sandpaper around. And the “kerf” cut helps hold the sandpaper in place until I’m ready to change it. —Tim Olaerts. Here are 41 more genius sanding tips you need to know. If you have to pick up long lengths of wood from the lumberyard, throw a spring clamp in the back of your vehicle. Use the clamp to attach the warning flag to the end of the protruding lumber. The clamp’s easy to slip on and off, and you won’t have to fuss around with staples, nails or string. — Steve Parker. Plus: Learn more about how to transport large items in your truck. I know this seems really simple and you may already know how to read a tape measure so just hear me out on this one! Often times with woodworking you need to make exact measurements and cuts and it’s rarely pretty even numbers like 15 inches or 15 1/2 inches. It’s usually like 15 5/8 inches or 15 9/16 inches. So, really knowing how to read a tape measure in its entirety is important. And I’ve created a quick post on how to read a tape measure the easy way along with a helpful free printable. A woodworker's Workbench is a special type of bench designed to hold your work when you are working on a wood project. The main purpose of this table is to keep the woodwork steady and to prevent it from moving. Follow the tutorial below to build yourself a nice workbench suitable for your specific woodworking projects. Make sure to modify the table to fit your specific requirements.

You can transfer a graphic on any wood piece of your choice, including a frame, top of a table, etc. The surface should be clean and big enough for the graphic paper. I am also sharing a video tutorial here that explains in detail the process of transferring any graphic to a wooden surface using a freezer paper. Just gather the items you need and follow this video to carve your favorite designs on your favorite wood items.

The shelf in the first picture is made of red oak plywood. You can choose the wood type, color and design as you like for your project. In case if you need more help understanding this project, you can refer the source link below. It discusses various items used, steps and tips and personal experience of the author who personally built a Zigzag shelf. This particular tray is made using reclaimed barn wood but the author of the project Beyond The Picket Fence surprised everyone with one fact: reclaimed barn wood has often some areas turned pink due to cow urine. If you check the project more closely, you’ll also notice some areas of the tray being almost bright pink. That’s something you don’t see every day! Here’s a traditional Swedish farm accessory for gunk-laden soles. The dimensions are not critical, but be sure the edges of the slats are fairly sharp?they’re what makes the boot scraper work. Cut slats to length, then cut triangular openings on the side of a pair of 2x2s. A radial arm saw works well for this, but a table saw or band saw will also make the cut. Trim the 2x2s to length, predrill, and use galvanized screws to attach the slats from underneath. If you prefer a boot cleaner that has brushes, check out this clever project. While trying to trace an exact copy of the throat plate for my table saw, I came up with this nifty technique using an ordinary pencil. I just shaved my pencil into a half-pencil by carefully grinding it on my belt sander. The flat edge enables my modified pencil to ride straight up along the edge of the template. It also works great for marking and then shaping inlays for my woodworking projects. — Tim Reese. How to cut circles with a band saw. The items you’ll need for this project include wood board, power drill, tape measure, adhesive, etc. Read the tutorial for details. Follow the steps properly to make a nice and strong wall rack. This rack makes use of magnets to hold metal items. The tutorial explains the procedure for building this beautiful wall rack. Make sure to use only high quality items for any woodworking project. Use the rack only to hang items that are not too heavy for the magnet to hold. Also, be careful while working around this wall rack and beware of the knives falling off the rack.
As you can see in the image, this shelf goes on both sides of the corner wall. It looks beautiful and can be used to organize books, trophies, pictures frames and many other things. The strength and design of the shelf depends on how properly you build it. First time workers definitely need some guidance to help them with the process. Therefore, I am including this basic video that I found on YouTube that demonstrates the process of making corner wall wooden shelves.
A super simple iPad Dock/stand made out of a single block of wood features an angled groove which gets to support the tablet device and a cut in a hole to revise access to the home button of your iPad. It’s possible to drill an access channel in the stand through which you can run a charging cable, although this mini stripped back iPad stand may have very limited functions.
A small oak table is a very useful wooden item for every household. You can yourself make a nice, strong and beautiful oak table suitable for any purpose. See the image below. As you can see, it is a small, yet good enough table to be used as a coffee table, lamp stand, breakfast table, etc. You can also find many other design variants on the internet. Choose the one you want for yourself and start making it now.
Hardwoods, botanically known as angiosperms, are deciduous and shed their leaves annually with temperature changes.[8] Softwoods come from trees botanically known as gymnosperms, which are coniferous, cone-bearing, and stay green year round.[8] Although a general pattern, softwoods are not necessarily always “softer” than hardwoods, and vice versa.[9]

The space behind a door is a storage spot that’s often overlooked. Build a set of shallow shelves and mount it to the wall behind your laundry room door. The materials are inexpensive. Measure the distance between the door hinge and the wall and subtract an inch. This is the maximum depth of the shelves. We used 1x4s for the sides, top and shelves. Screw the sides to the top. Then screw three 1×2 hanging strips to the sides: one top and bottom and one centered. Nail metal shelf standards to the sides. Complete the shelves by nailing a 1×2 trim piece to the sides and top. The 1×2 dresses up the shelf unit and keeps the shelves from falling off the shelf clips.

There’s a lot of space above the shelf in most closets. Even though it’s a little hard to reach, it’s a great place to store seldom-used items. Make use of this wasted space by adding a second shelf above the existing one. Buy enough closet shelving material to match the length of the existing shelf plus enough for two end supports and middle supports over each bracket. Twelve-inch-wide shelving is available in various lengths and finishes at home centers and lumberyards.

Drill four 5/8-in.-dia. 1/2-in.-deep holes on the large disc?inside the traced circle?then use 5/8-in. dowel centers to transfer the hole locations to the underside of the small disc. Drill four 1/2-in.-deep holes on the underside of the small disc and a 1/2-in.-deep hole in the center of the top for the dowel handle. Glue in the dowels to join the discs, and glue in the handle. We drilled a wood ball for a handle knob, but a screw-on ceramic knob also provides a comfortable, attractive grip. As soon as I came across this tutorial, I didn’t wait any longer to start building one. Some of the items you need for this project are hardwood plywood, saw, glue, nails, drilling machine, etc. The video is very easy to follow for anyone with basic woodworking knowledge and experience. The first source link also includes a step by step procedure in plain English for those, who are not comfortable enough with the video tutorial.
Founded in 1977, Harbor Freight Tools is the leading discount tool retailer in the U.S. selling great quality tools at "ridiculously low prices" in our 1000+ stores nationwide and on its website www.harborfreight.com. Harbor Freight Tools stocks over 7,000 items in categories including automotive, air and power tools, shop equipment and hand tools. With a commitment to quality and a lifetime guarantee on all hand tools, Harbor Freight Tools is a favorite of automotive and truck repair shops, government agencies, schools, manufacturers, contractors and tool enthusiasts who want top-quality and great selection and value. The results speak for themselves - with over 40 million customers and thousands of people switching to Harbor Freight Tools every day. Some tools required for this project are hole saw, drilling machine, pencil, tape measure, clamps, etc. This tutorial explains every step properly with images so that anyone can make a wooden sofa sleeve easily. Those, who prefer a video tutorial, can visit the below link to a YouTube video that illustrates the process of building a DIY Sofa Sleeve Cupholder. Finding affordable lumber has always been a mainstay for woodworkers, and when you tie our dwindling natural resources into the conversation the time is right to look at milling your own lumber. This seven-part weekly video series takes you through how to find lumber, how to operate a sawmill, details on types of sawing methods, stickering and drying and ultimately advice on using a mill as part of a business. Learn what you need to know to understand Milling Your Own Lumber.

Do you want to use an oil stain, a gel stain, a water-based stain or a lacquer stain? What about color? Our ebook tells you what you really need to know about the chemistry behind each wood stain, and what to expect when you brush, wipe or spray it on. It’s a lot simpler than you think! This is the comprehensive guide to all the varieties of stain you will find at the store and how to use them.

There’s a lot of space above the shelf in most closets. Even though it’s a little hard to reach, it’s a great place to store seldom-used items. Make use of this wasted space by adding a second shelf above the existing one. Buy enough closet shelving material to match the length of the existing shelf plus enough for two end supports and middle supports over each bracket. Twelve-inch-wide shelving is available in various lengths and finishes at home centers and lumberyards.
There is no cost to use the database. Registering is not required. You should be able to browse the database and click through the links. Having said that, considering the fact there are so many browsers out there being used, this site's software might not allow some visitors to browse, it all depends on the Internet traffic, and your browser's compatibility. Build this handy stool in one hour and park it in your closet. You can also use it as a step to reach the high shelf. All you need is a 4 x 4-ft. sheet of 3/4-in. plywood, wood glue and a handful of 8d finish nails. Cut the plywood pieces according to the illustration. Spread wood glue on the joints, then nail them together with 8d finish nails. First nail through the sides into the back. Then nail through the top into the sides and back. Finally, mark the location of the two shelves and nail through the sides into the shelves. Don’t have floor space to spare? Build these super simple wall-mounted shoe organizers instead! Hardwoods are separated into two categories, temperate and tropical hardwoods, depending on their origin. Temperate hardwoods are found in the regions between the tropics and poles, and are of particular interest to wood workers for their cost-effective aesthetic appeal and sustainable sources.[9] Tropical hardwoods are found within the equatorial belt, including Africa, Asia, and South America. Hardwoods flaunt a higher density, around 65lb/cu ft as a result of slower growing rates and is more stable when drying.[9] As a result of its high density, hardwoods are typically heavier than softwoods but can also be more brittle.[9] While there are an abundant number of hardwood species, only 200 are common enough and pliable enough to be used for woodworking.[11] Hardwoods have a wide variety of properties, making it easy to find a hardwood to suit nearly any purpose, but they are especially suitable for outdoor use due to their strength and resilience to rot and decay.[9] The coloring of hardwoods ranges from light to very dark, making it especially versatile for aesthetic purposes. However, because hardwoods are more closely grained, they are typically harder to work than softwoods. They are also harder to acquire in the United States and, as a result, are more expensive.[9]